Where little fears grow great, great love grows there
by Aunt Rose
Summary: "She's the age kids are supposed to go to school, right?" Eleanor looks at him with upturned brows and seemingly having the same concerns he has. "Holy shit, I, huh, I have no idea." Jasper and Eleanor spend some time babysitting Sarah Alice.
1. Chapter 1

**PART ONE**

On the days Jasper works the morning shift, his alarm rings at five forty on the dot.

He likes to set it five minutes before he actually has to get up. It used to piss Eleanor off, because she doesn't do alarms, thank you, she has the luxury of people waiting on her if she is late. But Jasper likes the early quietness, and she got so used to it she started sleeping through it most days anyway. (She sometimes wakes up with him to kiss him good morning, then turns her back to him and goes back to slumber.)

The barely-rising sun can't be seen through the windows but the light starts warming up the room. Even on regular mornings, he almost always wakes up before Eleanor does so he just lays in bed, enjoys its warmth, mentally prepare himself for the day ahead, maybe watches her sleep a little, before he gets up and dressed, kisses her forehead and gets to work.

He would have never suspected bodyguards had shifts, he simply thought they followed their boss around from dawn to dusk, but the palace is very strict about time and rest, especially when it comes to security. Tired bodyguards are next to useless, and Jasper is more than willing to admit that even he is useless once his body starts shutting down, no matter how bad he wants to keep the royal family safe.

(As a matter of fact, he was tired the day he got shot. His eyes felt heavier than usual, his mood was off, he wasn't getting enough rest because Robert required him to be on the move with him 24/7. Jasper wonders how the asshole himself was not driven to exhaustion.)

Morning shifts are usually the quietest, unless Robert has to make an appearance on the countryside to reaffirm his close-to-the-people politics, but since he and Willow have gone on honeymoon halfway around the world, that is all of James Hill's problem and none of Jasper's right now. Not that he doesn't wish he too was getting lost in India's small towns with no worries on his mind but his wife's happiness, though. As hard as he pretends to be fine on the job, lying to the doctors was not an option when they asked how he was truly feeling, and if he was healing, which was taking more time than he would have liked. No sudden moves, don't forget to stretch, take it slow.

People trying to harm royals don't take it slow, doctor.

So he is stuck with morning shifts in a quiet palace. Robert and Willow are on honeymoon, Liam has gone to spend some time away from London with Kathryn (it's basically a honeymoon, Jasper figures), and no royal is ever up before at least seven.

He checks up with the lord chamberlain at two past six. The queen has a brunch at eleven. Eleanor has nothing planned.

He sits in James Hill's chair in his office and takes a sip of a hot coffee as he starts going through the night's security cameras' footage. The pile of paperworks Hill left him on the side of the desk tells him it's going to be a long day.

"Hi Jasper," the high-pitched voice chants at exactly thirty four past eight.

"Sarah Alice," Jasper, quite surprised, acknowledges her. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," she states, shrugging but obviously understanding Jasper had forgotten that.

Which, she is right, he had, for a moment. With Hill gone he hadn't questioned where his daughter would be ; the thought had not even crossed his mind.

"Sarah Alice?" calls a woman's voice down the hall, as footsteps match the hurried-up tone. "There you are, honey."

Right, Marianne. Thirty seven, twenty years working with children, ten of those in London's top ten schools. Three kids of her own, Louis, Judith, Henry. Divorced. Best palace's staff's kids nanny. (Back when he just started working at the palace, Pryce had him run background checks on all twenty candidates to babysit the staff's children. Ophelia came home as Pryce explained the thorough process. She had mentioned to Jasper to make sure they weren't ice-cold bitches, for what her father had scolded her, but she had proclaimed she was speaking from experience.)

"Can I stay with Jasper, Miss Marianne? He is my boyfriend."

"Mr Frost is working, and you need to eat breakfast before you start your day," calmly explains Marianne to a frowning Sarah Alice.

"Yeah, I'm busy for now, but I'm sure Eleanor would love to see you. She's in her room," Jasper suggests.

"Can I go see Princess Eleanor after breakfast?" Sarah Alice turns to Marianne again, who, knowing full well Jasper is not only in charge of security for the whole palace but also Eleanor's boyfriend, gives in without a fight.

"Sure, but for now, breakfast it is for you, young lady," she reiterates as she motions to Sarah Alice to get in the elevator leading out of the office.

"Bye Jasper!" The little girl joyfully chants again as she waves to him.

He waves back and notices Marianne's fond smile as she watches Sarah Alice, so he guesses she isn't the ice-cold bitch type Ophelia warned him about.

The sun is well up when Eleanor wakes up, alone. It must be a nice day out, she figures, since she can feel the morning sun hit her uncovered legs. She stretches and lets out a long sigh. She could definitely go back to sleep for a short while, but her sixth sense tells her someone is watching.

No one is watching, but she isn't alone indeed. Eleanor has a flashback from a year ago, when the same scene happened to her; waking up to Sarah Alice staring at her.

But Sarah Alice doesn't ask her if she is a princess, this time. She is not even staring, actually, she is simply sat on the couch, roaming her small hands through the papers from Eleanor's charity, a pen in her hand and oh no no no did sh- she didn't draw on them, did she?

Her eyes catch a butterfly in the corner of whatever file there is to complete and yeah, that's probably what Sarah Alice pictures Jasper the caterpillar turning into. (That joke doesn't seem to be going away.) Her innocence reminds her of her own, no matter how long ago it was lost. She remembers the days she would play with Liam for hours on end; time seemed to stop as they laughed but hours were going by and before they knew it they were back in bed.

She misses that innocence and decides Sarah Alice has every right to enjoy her own, so that little girl is going to spend a damn good day with her, she is ready for that.

"Morning," she manages to say as she sits, her voice still low from sleep.

"Good morning, princess!" Sarah Alice's voice pierces through the silence. "I drew me and Jasper, this is what we look like," she adds as she holds some charity paperwork with long, long streaks of pencil on them.

Actually, she'll be ready for a full day of fun with Sarah Alice after a large cup of coffee.

(So, she was right about the butterfly she spotted being Jasper. That joke is never going away.)

Did she just fall asleep again?

Eleanor figures she did, because the ground is nowhere near as comfortable as her bed, and Sarah Alice never screams to wake her- Hold on, why is Sarah Alice screaming? She is supposed to take care of that kid!

She suddenly sits up and the sun hurts her eyes; she can't see anything for a hot second, but she does keep hearing Sarah Alice's voice, which is not so screaming as much as it is laughing. She is okay then, Eleanor hasn't fucked up that bad. She can't imagine what would have happened if the little girl had been harmed or had disappeared.

Eleanor has always been the one being taken care of, being fourth in line for the throne of England and the youngest child in the family. (Liam was born exactly two minutes before she was, so by his rules, she is his to protect and care for.) She never had to, has barely ever wanted to, be the one person someone would depend on to take care of them instead, until Imogen and her drug addiction and violent boyfriend came along. At the moment she realized the poor girl relied on her, the weight of a life downed on her to crush her with unknown responsibility, because she had never done, had never saved a life, didn't know if she could do that but knew she had to. And so it clicked with her; that was what she was meant to do, that was what she wanted to do, not for the rewards or the image but selflessly, because it brought some good into the world and it could definitely use it. (It doesn't hurt that she knows for a fact that her father would have been proud of her.)

"Jasper you have to try!" Sarah Alice shouts out as she stops mid-course, breathless, a few steps away from Eleanor, whisking away her train of thoughts.

"I'm trying my best right now, I promise!" He answers as he finishes what Eleanor guesses to be a race; obviously not the first one if she knows Jasper's current cardio abilities, and she does very well. (Getting shot did take its toll on him.)

"Ahh," he deeply exhales as he finally slows down and stops. "Good morning, sleepy head," he teases Eleanor.

"What time is it?"

"A bit after five, I just got off."

"Are you ready to go again, Jasper?" Sarah Alice interrupts.

"I think our boyfriend needs some time off, honey."

"Yeah, definitely," Jasper confirms, still short-breathed. "But, go for another tour, we're watching. I'll give the start, okay? Fastest possible."

Sarah Alice readies herself.

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

"You're a natural with her, you know that?" Eleanor notes as they watch her sprint around a mount of flowers.

"Yeah, well," Jasper breathes heavily as he smooths his jacket, "I've never had a thing for kids. Kids have always had a thing for me, though."

"That's your charm operating on them."

Jasper chuckles. After all, Sarah Alice does joke about him being her boyfriend.

"C'mon, join me," Eleanor makes some room on the cover she has spread on the ground.

"What have you been up to?"

"A little bird told Sarah Alice she should wake me up," Eleanor teases. "I was gonna spend the day with her anyway. Hill asked if we could spend some time with her while he's in India."

Royalty might have a hard time trusting bodyguards, but she trusts James Hill with her life.

Not that he would say it out loud, but he has been looking after the royal family like his own since the day he accepted the Queen's offer to become head of security. But Eleanor had been the first family member he was assigned to, so she is nothing short of a daughter, and since she had tragically lost her father the year before, the lack of a stable father figure didn't weigh as much when Hill was around.

And in return, James Hill trusts her with his daughter's life.

The night before he went to India to watch over the newly-weds, he had knocked on her door with a request Eleanor could have never refused.

"Would you spend some time with her, distract her while I am away? It'd help make time go faster for her, she doesn't do well with me being away."

Eleanor's response had taken his breath away for a second, she could tell even though he tried to hide it.

"Of course. It's what family does."

He had stayed still, sitting next to her in silence.

"Thank you very much," he had whispered before he excused himself and closed the door discreetly behind him.

"Must be hard for her to see him leave for such a long time," Jasper brings her back out of her memories.

"Mmh, I can't imagine what's going through her head right now. He said she had never been away from her for more than a couple of days at a time."

"Did Robert say anything about the time they'll be back?"

"Not that I know of, but these two need to be away from the palace for now, they need their time alone. I wouldn't expect them to be back before a couple of weeks."

Jasper sighs.

"You don't mind spending time with her, do you?"

"Not at all. Do you?"

"No. I took some time getting used to a four-year-old dating my boyfriend and running around that palace like she owns it, but it's been good for all of us I think."

"Some innocence she brings, yeah."

"She's got you wrapped around her finger, doesn't she?" Eleanor teases him.

"She might, yeah," Jasper quietly admits. "Just don't tell her I said that," he adds as the little girl runs back full force towards them and stops abruptly.

"I've beat you three times now Jasper, but I never beat my daddy. That's not normal."

"Ah, that's uh, that's embarrassing, please don't tell him."

Sarah Alice sleeps with her mouth open. It is both weirdly cute and slightly funny to Jasper and Eleanor watching her, as she rests in the princess' arms.

They thought she'd never tired herself out, but she was out like a light the minute she reached for Eleanor after complaining her shoes were hurting her feet. It had been her idea to go back to the garden after dinner, because she wanted to run some more around the fountains and get her hands wet to shake them at Jasper and Eleanor who, each time, pretended to not see or hear her coming and be surprised.

They're getting back to the palace at a lazy pace, enjoying the warm night and the first stars shining in the sky.

"I never would have thought kids were so exhausting," Eleanor admits. She had been around Sarah Alice for almost a year now, since James Hill became head of security, but being around a kid and taking care of one all day were very different things, it turns out.

"Who would have thought such a small body could have so much energy?"

"I didn't suspect it, for sure. I can't imagine how people do this all day, every day, and have several of them. They've got to be so tired," Eleanor keeps going. "She's a delight but God, does she run fast."

Jasper barely contains a laugh as he opens and holds the door to the palace for Eleanor.

"Do you think you should bring her back to Marianne and have her sleep at Hill's place?" Jasper asks, doubtful. "She probably shouldn't stay there alone."

"I don't know, but I'd feel better knowing she's with us. I can't imagine her waking up alone in there."

Jasper doesn't say anything but can't help but remember how it felt to wake up alone as a kid, and understand no one would kiss him good morning or fix him breakfast or remind him not to forget his school lunch.

"Hill definitely never said anything about her going to school right?" He suddenly asks, both worried he was losing his earring and feeling like kids were a whole lot of concerns he knew nothing about. "She's the age kids are supposed to go to school, right?"

Eleanor looks at him with upturned brows and seemingly having the same concerns he has.

"Holy shit, I, huh, I have no idea."

"Is she even supposed to go to school? Aren't kids on holidays right now or something? I don't even know what day it is tomorrow." Jasper keeps going, his speech speeding up.

"Woah woah calm down, I'm sure Hill would have said something if she was supposed to go to school. We'll call him tomorrow to check with him," Eleanor tries to calm him down, even though he can see she hadn't thought about Sarah Alice going to school either.

They make the worst babysitters, Jasper thinks as they walk back to their room.

"I'll get her one of my shirts to sleep in tonight," Eleanor suggests as they take the last turn in the long corridor. "I'll change her while you get the couch ready."

He nods as he opens the doors to their room. (Their room, he still can't believe it's their room.)

He has slept on the couch himself, numerous times, and while he would much rather sleep in their truly gigantic bed, he knows it is far from being uncomfortable. Eleanor keeps a spare cover on her bed, which he suspects being more comforting and less decorative; he gets that and arranges the couch so that Sarah Alice would feel safe. Her plushy is on the table and oh, right, that's another thing parents have to think about constantly.

He is so not used to taking care of a child, he notes as he sits on the edge of the bed and kicks his shoes off his feet.

Eleanor gets out of the bathroom a second later, her makeup off and holding a still asleep Sarah Alice wearing a shirt way too big for her. Her bed has been made, so she tucks the little girl into the covers, makes sure her plushy is near her. (Sarah Alice wraps her arms around it the second Eleanor puts it next to her.)

She gently puts a strand of hair out of the little girl's face as she smiles and finally, turns to Jasper looking at her fondly, but she can tell it's been a long day for him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a little tired," Jasper admits.

Eleanor walks over to him, but grabs the box of prescription care products the doctors gave Jasper on his nightstand before she sits next to him

"It wasn't your brightest idea to try to outrun a four-year-old on a sugar rush," Eleanor whispers as she carefully takes off every button of his dress shirt. "How's your wound feeling?" She asks as she opens his shirt, to reveal his bandage stained with blood.

"Tight, itchy. Not exactly comfortable."

Eleanor takes off the bandage in a swift motion as Jasper clenches his teeth. The bright red surgery scar has closed but blood has dried around it, so she cleans it gently with a cotton pad. She has done this dozens of times since Jasper got home, so much it has become a part of their night routine; get back to their room, shower, change bandage, get to bed. Maybe have sex. More often than not, actually.

Any other day, Eleanor would have changed his bandage, then sat on his lap to grab his hair to pull his head back and kiss his neck, or he would have laid her down the bed to climb on her and take off whatever she'd be wearing.

That's not the mood for tonight though.

"This one is almost empty," Eleanor notes as she presses scar special gel out of the tube, bringing Jasper back to the moment.

It's comforting to hear her talk about it, no matter how dark the cause had been. She is caring for him and he lets himself be cared for; they have come a long way since the days they'd have sex every once in a while and Eleanor got high on LSD or crack or whatever pill she could get her hands on.

She looks peaceful. Her skin glows, her cheeks slightly pink, her eyes focused on the task, her fingers gently applying gel the way she's learned from the nurses at the hospital. She's healthy, and beautiful, and peaceful, and he is so, so in love with her his heart could burst.

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Jasper breaks the comfortable silence that has set in the room.

It certainly surprises Eleanor, who lifts her head up to stare at him, confused as to what he is talking about. Her hands stop dead in applying his new bandage.

"These last few weeks have been a lot about me with the gunshot and all that, but I want you to know that I see you've come a long way since Robert disappeared, and I'm proud of you."

Not expecting any of it, Eleanor gives out a shy turnup of her lips, because the subject is touchy but she knows she has left behind the shell of a messed up girl and grown into a confident woman.

She gets her legs over one of his, sitting closer to him, and leans into him to seal their lips in a chaste kiss, before she rests her forehead against his.

"Thank you," she whispers.

Jasper opens his eyes to his girlfriend smiling but trying to hold back tears. It's been a long, eventful year, he thinks, but they've made it out stronger than ever.

"Come on, let's get you to bed too," he tells her as he puts one of his arm under her legs, and another one behind her back to lift her up, which he probably shouldn't do considering his wound just closed and his bandage is clean, but can't help. He lifts her up swiftly, as if his wound didn't just start hurting again, and she doesn't have the time to protest before he lets her down on their bed and joins her, arranging the covers over them.

They have what Jasper considers an enormous bed, but after shutting the lights down, Eleanor comes back right where she first was besides him, her back to him. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her nape as she laces their fingers, and before they know it, sleep takes over them

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Small steps, not so quiet.

Jasper is fully awake.

A light weight comes to rest next to Jasper's arm. He figures Sarah Alice is awake, although the sun is barely up.

"Jasper?" The little girl's voice breaks the silence of the night as she shakes his arm with her empty hand.

He pretends all his senses weren't just on high alert and fake-wakes up, turning his head and opening an eye to stare at a very much awake Sarah Alice holding her plushy.

No danger, then.

"Hey, why are you awake so early?"

The little girl shrugs and pouts, looking at Jasper like he holds every answer to every problem she could have.

"Come here," Jasper whispers as he sits and motions to Sarah Alice to join him and Eleanor, who is still sleeping deeply next to him.

She climbs over him to rest in the small space in between them. She's lucky there is even space to begin with, because Eleanor likes to sleep as close as possible to him. (She used to sleep away from him, each of them on separate sides. That changed over the years; now she has trouble even falling asleep if he's not there.)

"What's on your mind?" he asks as his arm goes over the little girl's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"Do you think my dad is okay?"

She breaks his heart with her tone and obvious anxiety. She is too young and innocent to be worried about people around her dying, but Jasper remembers she has gone through losing her parents once already, and he has put her through similar anxiety when he was in the hospital, so he takes the matter at heart.

"Of course he is. Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because his job is dangerous. Your job is dangerous, you got hurt."

Obviously, that was going to come up.

"Yes, it is." He is not going to lie to her. "But these things happen very rarely, and your dad is very good at his job."

"Dad says you are very good at your job."

Ah fuck.

(On one hand, Jasper wonders how and when James could have said that to his daughter; on the other, he's desperate to make her shaky voice disappear and put her back to sleep for a few more hours.)

"I'll tell you what. How about we call your dad in the morning and make sure he is safe, okay?"

She seems to hesitate.

"It is very early, he's probably sleeping. So should you. I promise we'll call him first thing in the morning and you can tell him all about the day we had yesterday and he can tell you all about India." Jasper does his best to keep a light tone and his voice down but reassuring, the way he liked his mother's voice when he was a child.

"Okay?"

"Okay," Sarah Alice nods after a long, deep sigh. " Can I stay with you?"

"Yes, of course," Jasper smiles, hoping it might cheer up the little girl a little, which it does, at his utmost surprise.

She settles in the bed sheets quietly, still holding her plushy in her arms.

He never thought he could deal with a kid, but he could get used to this sort of thing, he thinks, as his eyes close and sleep takes over him again.


	2. Chapter 2

Waking up to Eleanor is a gift Jasper is grateful for every day.

Waking up to Eleanor and Sarah Alice is a weird fucking occurrence Jasper isn't sure how he feels about.

All he is grateful for right now is his two girls being heavy sleepers, because his alarm just rang and they need their rest before the day takes off. It's five on a monday morning; best keep these two in bed for a little while.

But Eleanor turns around as she yawns and keeping her eyes closed, whispers:

"What time is it?"

"Too early for you to wake up," Jasper whispers. Eleanor tries to move up to him to wrap her arms around his waist, but he catches her forearm mid-air. "Careful, Sarah Alice's with us," he adds, which has her opening an eye.

So, that's who she was cuddling with.

Sarah Alice's head is buried in Jasper's pillow, holding her plushy in one of her oh-so-small hands. Now spooned to Eleanor, whose hand Jasper is holding over her, the little girl sleeps soundly, surrounded by warmth and comfort.

"Oh. Did she wake you up?"

"Yeah, she had a nightmare I think. She's worried about her dad."

"Aw, poor thing," Eleanor whispers as she smoothes the little girl's hair on her back.

"I told her we'd call Hill in the morning. I'll swing by later, go back to sleep," Jasper adds as he wiggles out of their bed to get dressed.

Eleanor hums in response but doesn't move the slightest bit, too comfortable to bother.

She might have slipped back into sleep already but Jasper walks back one last time to their bed to kiss her head and, without a second thought about it, kisses Sarah Alice's head too.

While Eleanor was traveling the world with Sebastian, Sarah Alice had turned to him as a friend. He wouldn't say he had, too, in return, but she was the person he had spent the most time around, except for his boss, whom he wouldn't qualify as a friend. Keeping a calendar and crossing days of Eleanor being gone had been his idea, that he had slipped to Sarah Alice, for whom it was much more acceptable to count the days while Eleanor was traveling the world on her own. It had been an anxious time for both of them; Sarah Alice for she felt to have lost a dear friend, Jasper for not only was he missing his lover but also constantly wondering if Rosie was protecting her as much as he would (Rosie might have a thing for girls. Eleanor does, too, yet she and Rosie have a wonderful, platonic friendship she can thank heaven for.)

He can't help the grin that spreads on his face as he walks to his office; it feels only natural to love and be loved in return, to wake up with a noble purpose, in bed with someone he trusts and who trusts him back.

That feels really fucking nice. Life has been treating him well. (Except for the part his father shot him but hey, he is healing.)

The lord chamberlain is due to check with him within the next minutes, so he takes the time to text Hill.

"Sarah Alice wants to chat, call asap." He types Hill as he flops down in his chair.

The answer comes quicker than he expects.

"I'm off for the next couple of hours, call whenever."

Good, so his girls are taken care of; now on to the rest of that goddamn palace.

Paperwork is boring. Background checks often aren't, but Jasper has been looking through potential employees with incredibly normal lives for the past hour, so when the elevator doors open and Marianne's heels clicking on the floor interrupt him, he doesn't shy away from the conversation.

"Mr Frost?" Marianne sounds alarmed. "I couldn't find Sarah Alice Hill this morning, she is nowhere to be seen, I'm terribly worried-"

"It's okay, she's with Princess Eleanor. She slept over in our room last night, we thought it best to keep her with us in case she woke up during the night," Jasper explains, as the woman's face relaxes.

"Oh, good. Did she? Wake up during the night I mean? Mr Hill warned me she might, she doesn't sleep well when he is traveling."

"Yeah, she did, so she got in bed with us to catch some more sleep."

"She is quite fond of you two, isn't she? Especially you."

"Definitely. She hung out with me a lot when Eleanor was away last spring," Jasper smiles as he remembers the countless times he's told her tales of thieves getting their asses kicked that weren't fiction as much as they were his own father's misdemeanors.

"Mh, I do remember that. As much as I hate to take her away from you, that little devil has to go to school today. Would you like to wake her up?" Marianne suggests.

So kids aren't on holidays at the moment and Sarah Alice has to attend school; Jasper feels he is learning more and more by the day. He wonders for a bit how could he have not known this, considering the time he has known her, and guesses he either wasn't paying enough attention, or- or he is going as shitty of a father as Earl was to him.

Shame cripples down on him for a second, before he can answer.

"Can't leave the office for now, but go ahead. I told her we'd call her dad in the morning, do you think you could pass by before she goes?"

"Of course, no problem."

"Marianne?" Jasper calls back. "What time does she go?"

"Eight thirty to eleven, then one to four o'clock. Why?"

"Just wondering," he mumbles. "Thanks."

As she leaves and the elevator goes down, Jasper can't quite shake the guilt away as it grasps his throat.

Seven thirty on a monday morning is too early to feel like a shitty father figure.

"Hi Jasper," Sarah Alice singsongs as the elevator doors open to reveal her standing hand in hand with Marianne.

"Hey, you. Had a good night sleep?"

"Princess Eleanor likes to cuddle a lot," Sarah Alice notes, thus not answering the question, which has Jasper wondering if she is well-rested, and if they should have let her sleep in her bed at Hill's place after all.

"Yeah, she does. Do you remember when you woke up and I said we'd call your dad in the morning?"

"Yes, you said I could tell him alllll about yesterday, so I want to tell him I run faster than you."

Jasper chuckles but keeps going:

"Well come on, let's call him then."

The little girl takes the liberty of climbing up Jasper's lap before he can say anything; as the phone rings, he doesn't have the time to process what's happening.

"Hi daddy!"

"Hi sweetheart," Hill's voice resonates through Jasper's phone. "What's up? Aren't you at school yet?"

"Last night Jasper said we'd call you so Marianne woke me up early. We played running in the gardens yesterday," she adds, and Jasper fears that little munchkin isn't going to keep her tongue to herself, "and I beat him three times."

Obviously.

"Why'd you have to tell on me like that?"

Sarah Alice ignores him and keeps babbling about.

"I slept in the Princess' room last night!"

Hill's brows shoot up his forehead as he stares at Jasper, who desperately tries to act normal. Did he cross a line that shouldn't have been crossed there? Did he go too far into taking Sarah Alice under his wing as her father is away?

Hill happily chats with his daughter but Jasper sees the looks he gives him through the screen.

He is so fucked.

"It's been a pleasure, thank you very much."

"The pleasure was ours, your Highness."

"Let's meet again soon, I will contact you so you can update me on the situation."

"We will be waiting for your call, thank you."

Eleanor falls back into her seat as the pair leaves the room.

Pleasantries are exhausting, but accomplishing great work is worth it, she thinks, as she is sat alone in a State Room, contemplating her life, while the staff is cleaning the last plates of the tea she has just had with representatives from her charity, which, to her delight, is growing by the day.

Eleanor takes great pride in growing into mature, calmer woman than the living Hell of a girl she has been for years. Experience has taught her what she considers is the key to her peace of mind; communication. With her mother, her brothers, her friends and, most importantly, her lover.

She doesn't shy away from admitting Jasper and her have been a shit-show from the start. Not that she would proudly say it out loud, but it comforts her to remember that time, only to realize who they have grown into. They are finally steady, healthy, and in love. It has been a wild ride, a long journey, but as she has once written to him, she would do it all over again because she wants to do nothing but grow up and old with Jasper.

Her phone screen lights up with a text notification as she reaches for it.

"What are you up to, princess?" Jasper has just sent.

It is barely two thirty, and he is not off for at least another hour; knowing him the way she does, she guesses he is either bored out of his mind, or he is troubled and probably won't talk about it but needs the distraction.

"On my way to bother you rn," she texts back as she walks down the long corridors.

The elevator doors open to reveal a troubled Jasper who is going to need his mood kicked up his ass, Eleanor can tell straight away.

He is sat in front of a couple of piles of paperwork, one of which topped by an empty cup of coffee. There is not a single file opened anymore, but Jasper's fingers twitch and taps a pen at a fast pace against the wooden table.

"Hi babe."

"Come to bother me while I work, huh?" Jasper's face softens as he turns his chair to her.

"Just making your job easier by letting you guard my body from short distance, I've been told it's more effective," she says as she leans in, plants her hands on his cheek and come kiss him.

"It is, indeed," he answers, his lips moving against her still, and seals their lips again. "How did your meeting go?" he asks as she allows herself to sit on the desk.

"Alright I guess, we're thinking of expanding it, maybe turning it into a project for students or something like that. Lots of talk, it makes me miss my costume. What about you, how's today been?"

"Quiet, your mother is having lunch in town, she's not back yet."

"Did you get to talk to Hill?"

"Yep, called him this morning when Sarah Alice came by - before she went to school, because she actually attends - she told him about my fan-deceiving running performance yesterday," he smirks, "and how she slept in the Princess' bed."

"Oh. Did he say anything?"

Jasper had been so sure to figuratively and actually get his ass kicked by Hill he had wanted to cut the conversation short, but it turned out he was simply surprised at the length of Jasper and Eleanor's commitment to the task he'd given them.

"Just thanks for doing that while he can't."

"I thought she'd be with you this morning, since she wasn't with me when I woke up. It's good she gets out of the palace, sees the world a bit, I wouldn't want her to grow up thinking this is all there is in life."

Jasper simply nods in response. The silence doesn't last as Eleanor jumps straight to address the elephant in the room

"What's on your mind?"

"Do you think I'd be a shitty father?" Jasper blurts out, surprising her.

"Why would you ask that?"

"I don't know, us taking care of Sarah Alice made me realize there are so many things I didn't know about her, about kids in general. I thought I did but it's all so much, there are so many things to think about, I kinda feel… overwhelmed."

"Hey, it's okay. We have known her for a while and you have been nothing but extraordinary with her. Besides, you are not her father; it's okay for you to not know everything about her."

"I can't believe we didn't even think about her going to school."

"I just assumed, since she can read and write and all that, but I don't think I've heard her mention it."

Jasper lets out a long sigh before he admits:

"I still feel like there's so much I don't know."

"You're not like your father, if that's what's bothering you. And you wouldn't be a shitty dad."

"I just- I didn't have that great of a childhood, so I want Sarah Alice to have the best one possible, you know what I mean? She knows it's a risky job her dad has and she's around us all the time, but I'm not kids-fun and I don't know how to give her that."

"You've thought a lot about that,", Eleanor realizes. "How long has this been on your mind?"

"A while," Jasper admits. "Probably since I got shot."

Getting shot had changed a lot of things, for them, but mainly it had lit up a flame in Jasper that he never thought would fuel him to become a different person; an honest lover, a loyal friend, possibly - and Jasper won't admit to giving this more than a thought - a great father.

Eleanor can tell from the way his eyes seem to stare into the void that he's lost in his own thoughts, so she simply reaches out for his hand that still taps the pen against the desk, stopping him.

"What time is it?" Jasper suddenly seems pulled out of the void by a thought.

"Two thirty, why?"

"She gets out at three, we could pick her up from school, go for ice cream or something. Do you think she'd like that?"

How could Jasper even wonder if he would be a great father is out of Eleanor's understanding as he nervously waits her opinion.

"I think she would, yeah. Hill probably can't pick her up most of the times, so it'd be a nice surprise."

Jasper relaxes for a few seconds, before his shoulders tense up again and his gaze goes back to the void.

"Come on, bodyguard," Eleanor says playfully as she hops off the desk and offers her hand to hold, which Jasper takes, and as he gets up, intertwines their fingers and draws her into his arms.

"Thank you," he whispers before his lips join hers in a tender kiss she smiles through.

Eleanor hasn't walked into a school in years; Jasper can't remember the last time he did. He supposes it was high school, but he might have broken into one to steal shit when he was still in Vegas.

To say they are feeling out of place is the understatement of the year, so thank God for the acting lesson her mother insisted Eleanor and Liam took when they were barely teenagers, because the public eye is the harshest critic of them all. It doesn't help that parents, actual parents, not playing-parents-to-a-kid-that's-not-theirs parents Jasper notes, around them clearly recognize them.

He cannot wait to get out of there.

The bell rings just in time to save him from remembering his own school years. As children slowly start walking - running for most of them, really - out of the building, his mind wanders to a place he usually doesn't let it wander.

He could see himself there, every day, watching carefully the crowd of running little devils for one of his own. Maybe a little girl with dark hair, like her mother, and his eyes; or a little boy the spitting image of his father but his mother's wit and laugh. Maybe both. That'd be nice, a little family.

(Hopefully the kids grow with none of their parents' hatred for their own parents.)

His stomach twists at the bare idea that his kids could hate him one day.

This is why he doesn't let his mind wander there, he remembers, as he spots a familiar blonde head walking down the school's stairs.

"Hey there Pumpkin," Eleanor calls out Sarah Alice, while other kids look at her with wide, starry eyes.

"Eleanor?" Sarah Alice looks confused. "Why isn't Marianne picking me up from school?"

"Jasper thought it'd be nice to pick you up and he promised we'd go for ice cream," Eleanor explains as she kneels in front of her to close her jacket. "Are you up for it?"

"Sure!"

"Come on then, Jasper's waiting."

At the sight of him, a few meters away, sunglasses on and his suit cut sharp, obviously checking their surroundings but secretly watching her, she runs up to him as her school back swings along her back. He catches her mid-run, and lifts her to balance her on his hip.

"Had a nice day at school, Miss Hill?" He asks, sunglasses still on, pretending to be strictly professional.

"Are we going for ice cream?" she asks. "Eleanor said you promised we were going for ice cream."

"I never promised that," Jasper interrupts as he takes off his glasses to bend them and attach them to his shirt's breast pocket.

"Ah, I must have heard wrong then," Eleanor fakes a sorry smile. "Although it would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"I want strawberry and chocolate ice cream," Sarah Alice announces, crossing her arms.

"That doesn't leave me a choice, does it?" Jasper asks both his girls.

"No," they answer together at unison.

"Alright let's go then," he fake-gives in - because really, he is dreaming of pistachio ice cream right now - as he kneels and lets go of Sarah Alice before his wounds starts hurting too much.

Eleanor takes the little girl's hand in her own as start walking down to the park where she knows for a fact they sell this kingdom's best ice cream.

Jasper, sunglasses down his shirt, his sleeves rolled up, watches them attentively, mainly in the name of security, but can't help and think this is what his life could be like; it is quiet, and comforting, none of which he thought he would ever experience daily.

"Oh, oh! Can we do that?" Sarah Alice suddenly points to a couple across the street, holding their child's hands and fly him up the air as he laughs.

"That looks dangerous," Jasper notes as his brows frown.

"Are you kidding me? All kids do that, it's so fun!" Eleanor answers with a grin on her face, remember the fun doing it when she had as a child.

Sarah Alice grasps Jasper's hand before he knows it, as Eleanor excitedly tells the little girl to hold onto them tightly. They take a few steps, swinging her arms. Jasper's confidence evaporates with each step, and as Eleanor starts counting down to one, he starts doubting his babysitting skills.

There is no time for doubts anymore though, because Sarah Alice launches herself in the air. His hand tightens around hers; she screams and Jasper's blood pressure shoots up.

He worries that she is hurt for a split second, but Sarah Alice laughs her heart out as her feet land on the pavement

Mission: accomplished. Damsel: not in distress. Good.

"Again!" She demands with a large grin on her face.

Eleanor's eyes slide to Jasper, but he doesn't see her, focused on the little girl. How does that guy manage to think he would be a bad father is over her, and that feeling seems to come back quite often when it comes to him and Sarah Alice.

For a few minutes, nothing is said between the two of them. One just counts down and Sarah Alice laughs and laughs and laughs, until they reach the park and she lets go of their hands to run off to the ice cream stand.

"Didn't your parents ever do that with you?" Eleanor breaks the silence.

"Not that I remember, we never really spent time together at all."

"Earl doesn't seem the hand-holding type, yeah."

"He's not," Jasper sneers. "I missed out on lots of stuff."

Eleanor grasps his hand in response, lacing their fingers.

"Well, now you are the hand-holding type. Look at you," she chuckles, pointing to Sarah Alice who joyfully awaits for them.

"Who would have thought I'd end up here?" Jasper whispers to himself.

Eleanor definitely hears him, but doesn't say a word, simply walking a little closer to him, holding his hand a little tighter.

Small steps, great progress.

AW, LOVERS CAUGHT PARENTING IN LONDON!

Her royal highness Princess Eleanor and bodyguard Sir Jasper Frost were photographed in the streets of London holding hands and getting ice cream with Palace's Head of Security's daughter after picking up her from school.

Bodyguard Frost, who was recently knighted, resumed to his functions at the palace shortly after he and Princess Eleanor came forward with their relationship. Inside reports indicate doctors have ordered him to take things slow considering the severity of his injuries.

But it seems as the pair went to pick up the little girl from school, he and Princess Eleanor are doing just fine and looking better than ever.

So, is England's hottest couple right now giving parenting a try? We'd love to see them make things official and have some royal babies of their own!


End file.
